Thorn
by The Merry Sioux
Summary: After the turtles are rescued from captivity by a girl with the power to control ice, they soon find themselves pulled deeper and deeper into her and her two sisters' lives. Mary Sue.


**Title:** Thorn

**Sum:** After the turtles are rescued from captivity by a girl with the power to control ice, they soon find themselves pulled deeper and deeper into her and her two sisters' lives. Mary Sue.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMNT. But I'm pretty sure I possess all rights to any and all OCs, hee.

**Chapter 1: "Her Name Is Thorn"**

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"She entered with stealth, wearing the night's darkness as her cloak. She'd made it inside the facility. And from what she could see, there was no quiet way out. Her mission was set and she had no allies... Not yet, at least."

The speaker lowered herself to the floor, as she was starting to get a headache from crawling upside-down along the ceiling of the metallic corridor. She shook herself off, examining her surroundings from a new view.

Then, she sighed before taking into a sprint.

"I seriously gotta work on not being so over-dramatic. Else my books'll _never_ sell."

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Leonardo blinked as the speakers crackled, indicating that a voice would follow. It did.

"_Security alert. There has been a breach in Sector two. Units 3-B, 5-B, 6-A, 7-B, and 9-A proceed to Sector two immediately._"

The scientists around the turtles' cage paused in their work for only a moment, before going on with what they'd been doing before the interruption. The blue-clad turtle exchanged glances with all his brothers.

"Case 'n' Ape?" Raph suggested, not even bothering to whisper.

"They're on vacation, aren't they?" Don reminded.

Mikey scooted closer to the conversation. "Maybe Master Splinter, like...got a hold of 'em or something."

Leo said nothing, still trying to get his swimming mind to work. He remembered they had been on a patrol run... Just skimming along the tops of the city buildings. Then, he'd felt a prick on his arm, and he remembered losing footing. He'd heard his brothers shouting for him before his memories shook out of focus.

Then, he'd woken up in a cage. His brothers had surrounded him at least. But the thick bars almost cancelled out that comfort. As did the humans in lab coats watching them (though, the scientists hadn't approached them, so their plan of escaping by holding someone hostage never had a chance to take effect). There were machines and computers in the brightly-lit gray-scaled room, and Leo had caught Don admiring the technology more than once. Raph had screamed and cursed and spat, but the scientists had barely done much besides glance his way ("They're very disciplined professionals," Don had commented).

It was established that they were in a lab, but other than that...they really had no idea how far from home they'd been. They didn't even have their weapons with them, though they at least retained their masks and garb.

Then, one of the doors opened.

The person in black was a contrast to both the room and the people in it, strolling in and shutting the door casually as all the scientists turned towards her.

The newcomer was deep brown in skin tone with short jet-black hair splayed in disarray on her head. She wore an indigo button-up dress shirt--that matched with her eyes--with a black blazer over it. The black dress pants she wore were rolled up above the ankles, revealing her socks that were stretched up past her feet and were a diamond-pattern of blue that went with her shirt and eyes. Her shoes were casual-formal as well, black with a blunted shine. Around her neck by a silver chain was a strange, blue, deformed stone.

"Who are _you_?" a sharp voice rang out. One of the scientists was walking towards the newcomer. "This is a restricted area. I wasn't informed of any visitors, so I can assume--"

It would look like a blur to anyone watching besides the turtles: the newcomer grabbed the scientist's arm, and twisted, flipping and heaving her out of the way.

The newcomer straightened with a sigh. "I hate assuming people. Must be an ego thing." She smiled at the remaining scientists. "So how does one get that cage to open?" She jerked a thumb in the turtles' direction.

It started with one woman making a dash across the room towards the emergency telephone line.

The newcomer was quicker, practically gliding over the floor before fastening her hands onto the scientist's labcoat and swinging her around to knock down the other scientists who had followed his example. There were two of them and the three went to the floor in a heap of grunts and yawps.

And before they could get up, ice (the same that was suddenly seen covering the entire floor) shot up in spikes and curled into thick locks around them, restraining them against the floor. The other five of the scientists were caught slipping against the ice, and the rescuer secured two of them just by directing her hands in their directions. One's foot was swallowed by a mount of solid cold, while the other was tripping by a rolling bump of frost and ended up locked into the floor like the first three.

The stranger got to the third, who had been heading for the door, by throwing a jab in his direction; and though he'd been quite a ways from a direct hit, a block of ice had soared from her fist and collided into the back of the scientist's head. By the time the fourth scientist had swung around to grab the doorknob, the newcomer had met her there, a strong punch connecting to the woman's gut.

The fifth hadn't even attempted escape, barely able to stand up.

And then, the frost on the floor elevated and curled around his legs, and then surrounded his lower torso, fixing him in an upright position to that spot. Calmly, the turtles' rescuer stepped towards him with a sigh, closing her eyes as she shook her hair out.

"Gotta give 'em credit for their passion," the rescuer said with an affirming nod before opening her eyes to the scientist in front of her. "Cage. Opens. How?"

He was shaking, maybe from both fear and the cold ice encasing him, nodding his head desperately towards one of the machines. On a certain tower were two large buttons. One labeled "lock", the other "unlock".

"Oh," the rescuer laughed sheepishly, walking over. "Of course."

She pressed her palm down on the button labeled "unlock". The cage door clicked loose.

Suddenly, there was the sound of glass shattering. The first scientist had broken the casing around a lime-green phone and was pulling the receiver down to her mouth and ear with shaking hands.

"H-_Hello_?" she spoke, eyes wide with panic. "Please, _help_--send squads down to--"

A sharp thud rang out as the rescuer's fist collided with the scientist's jaw; he ended up on the ground, soonafter, unmoving but breathing at least. The girl had caught the phone in her other hand and raised it to her mouth.

"False alarm. I _swear_."

And soon, it became but a block of ice in her fingers. She dropped it and it cracked apart into thick clumps of cold. Then, she turned to face the turtles, who were now all stepping out of the cage.

"Anyone hurt?" she asked coolly, eyes running over them for injuries. She received a few shakes of the head. "Then let's go."

Suddenly, a loud blaring caused all of them to jump as the room began to flash, coloring everything shades of fire engine red. The computerized announcer voice echoed along to the blaring and flashing: "_Security Alert. All units to Event A, Situation 4 positions. All units to Event A, Situation 4 positions._"

Then, she was running and gesturing them to follow. "_Move it_!"

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"The newly-formed group shot down the halls, accosters appearing at every odd angle," she spoke excitedly as she worded the events. She froze another couple of gunmen who appeared around a corner. "One, two--" And she spun about with a wave of frost. "Three, four, five! The elementalist who lead them was unbeatable!"

"With a big head and an annoying hole in her face," Raph muttered.

"The red turtle mocked her unspiritedly, but she continued to do her best to protect him as well!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

They rounded a corner and only got a glimpse of orange exploding into their vision before their rescuer shoved them all back and shouted "BACK."

The next thing they felt, right after the brief blindness, was intense heat coupled with the roar of flames. Darkness fell once more, though the glow of fire still held the corridor in a light tint of orange.

The stranger was leaning against the corner, one of the edges of her shoulder still smoking, and for a moment, Leo thought he saw panic flash over her features.

"Got the canisters hidden on your body or something?" a voice from around the corner snickered. "Let me guess. Liquid nitrogen, right? Make all the guards think you're something special--_magical_. Clever lil trickster."

The panic was gone then, as if it had never been there.

"A flame-thrower," the rescuer spoke back, playing the same tone in response and stepping out from the safety of the corner before the turtles could protest. They watched as she cocked an eyebrow and leaned back on her heels, pocketing her hands. "Ah. Flame-thrower_s_." A vicious grin spread across her face as her hair fell forward to shadow it. "What a _joke_."

"We'll give you a warning," said the one in charge. Her tone of arrogance spoke of her status, as well as it betrayed her inexperience. "Give up and you'll be handed over to the proper authorities nice and easy. Otherwise...well, your family'll need dental records to identify your body once we're through."

"Your courtesy is appreciated." The rescuer exhaled and shrugged her shoulders. "So I'll send my own warning back. Let me pass or you could get hurt."

A laugh. The orange glow became brighter. "One last chance..."

A grin flashed across the rescuer's face. "I think I'm kinder, though... If _I_ decided to really be 'through', _your_ families would receive your corpses in pristine preservation."

"FIRE--!"

The turtles stared as the corridor blared bright orange and yellow once more, flames roaring around the closer with the heat licking towards them.

But instead of their rescuer's agonized screams, they heard some one else yelp in pain. And then, a grunt. And then, the head of squad's alarmed voice shouting "STOP, STOP--!"

The blazes of orange heat halted abruptly, and it was almost silent if not for the commotion that could be heard going on throughout the rest of the building and a slight whistling--like air rushing through a small crack.

Then, a chuckle. "Yeah, that's what I thought." It was the rescuer. She raised her voice slightly so it could be better heard from around the corner. "Guys, let's blow this joint already."

Leo, taking initiative, was the first to step out, leading his brothers past the squad of flame-throwers. Including the leader, there had been six of them. Two were knocked out, one was only just regaining her footing, and only one of the remaining two still possessed a flame-thrower--but he wasn't using it.

There was also a sort of whistling sound, like air rushing through a tiny way.

Before them, the rescuer was motioning the turtles to go ahead of her. Hanging by her left hand were three tanks of the flame-throwers, while her right hand clung to a fourth canister, this one with a hole. That's where the whistling noise was coming from; it was the gas leaking from the tank. And that was why the leader had so alarmingly ordered the assault to stop. The entire corridor could have flared up...

There wasn't much time to reprimand her for the reckless move, though, Leo realized quickly. With her hands full, the turtles were the ones who covered her. It wasn't so hard; the guards who spotted them all hesitated at the sight of the leaking gas tank. It was enough time to heave them up and over, or give a stunning heel to the face, or whatever it took to down the count.

They would encounter breaks in the hallways, and the newcomer would have to yell directions on which way to go, but that was the extent of what she could do as she hauled the tanks over her bank and did her best to keep up with them.

Finally, they barraged through a last metal door--this one thicker than all the others--and hit outside air. The newcomer pushed past them and tossed out the leaking gas tank, being none-too-gentle as she shoved the turtles back inside the building with her and closed the door. And just as it shut, the sound of bullets pelted down where they would've been--like heavy rain. Knowing what was the come next, the party of five plugged their ears as the gas tank outside blew.

The force was enough to misshapen the door, so the rescuer stepped forward to freeze over, before stepping back again as Don and Raph kicked through.

They ran into the haze of lifted dirt and smoke, keeping close, but proceeding quickly.

Then, the rescuer hopped slightly. Ice slid like lightning from where she landed, down into a path in front of them, forming white platforms that grew in height as they closed in distance to the walls. Guards had approached the explosion area by then, but they were easily taken advantage of in the massive cloud of dust.

Still, the flying earth pieces were beginning to settle.

The five took to the platforms quickly, going up one at a time, each stopping to wait until the last of them had reached the top of the wall the platforms had led to.

The rescuer punctured two of the canisters she held then, tossing them into the air. She then set the last off stand-by, and flames licked out the nozzle. The turtles prepared to jump. The rescuer began shooting fire. Raph turned around to the laboratory to shout for all of them to hear.

"Yeah, that's right, _fuck_--" ...the group leapt... "--OFF!"

Flames roared through the air, catching along the gas and flaring up wherever the gas had spread. When the rescuer threw away the flame-thrower, it burst into combustion as well.

"And as they jumped in the midst of explosions, fire ignited the lab in those same blazes that would celebrate the freedom of four over-sized chelonians!" the rescuer said in stream as they fell.

"Um, um-- _hey_?" Mikey exclaimed as they plummeted down the high wall towards flat _hard_ ground.

The rescuer brushed her fingers against the wall bricks as they went down, and frost began racing along with them on the wall side. Spikes of ice stabbed out and, reflexes trained to be quick, the turtles grabbed a spike closest to them to gain control of their falls before flinging off and landing on the ground, balanced and in tact. The rescuer did the same, with a flair that spoke volumes in how much experience she had in doing that, and landed just ahead of them.

Before they could say a word, she began speaking in narrative again:

"A successful escape, but the danger was far from over! To regroup, the newly-formed party headed down the road towards the city, hidden amidst the forest brush!"

Decision made, the turtles didn't defy her lead, and followed the stranger away from captivity.

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It was now silent.

The awkward group of five took hiding in one of the thicker clusters of trees in Central Park. There hadn't been much time for talk; it had been around an hour of sprinting and dodging the rusted-yellow siren-equipped vans that bore the symbol of the same secret laboratory the turtles had woken up in. And even now, they were all taking their time to catch their breaths, all becoming very still whenever a yellow van passed by.

Soon enough, their breathing calmed down so that they could speak, but before anyone could ask questions, the turtles noticed a slight beeping coming from each of their own underarms.

The girl looked at the turtles and her right hand formed into an icy blade.

"Just what's the idea here?" Raphael hissed out defensively as he eyed it.

"Now, I don't want to freak you out," the girl told them steadily, leaning away from them.

"Kinda late!"

She pointed to Mikey's underarm since he was the closest. "But..."

"_Alien probes_?" Mikey gasped.

Raph smacked him upside the head and he almost fell from the tree.

"Tracking devices," Don said, studying his own underarm with wide eyes as a faint bead of light glowed in synch with the beeping. "They must've planted these while we were unconscious."

"And if they're already tracking us, it's best to get them out," Leo said, looking to the human. "How confident are you in slicing us up?"

Their rescuer shook her head with a shrug. "I've cut enough arms to know which area of skin usually covers what kind of vein."

"Oh, yeah, cuz _that_ sounds reassuring, now, don't it?" Raphael spat.

"What do we do, then, Raph?" Leo asked, and now, he only sounded tired. "We wait here until they catch us again, or we run until they catch us again? None of us have our weapons, and her ice is probably a lot more sanitary than some stick or rock we can find."

Raph grumbled something incomprehensible, but was still able to communicate that he reluctantly agreed.

Leo was the first to offer himself to be cut, and his brothers followed his lead. Though they felt the cold sting, the numbing effect of the ice was probably a lot better than what could've been Leonardo's sword.

Once she had all four tracking devices, the human dug into one of her pants pockets and pulled out a long fishline, stringing the tracking devices to it as the turtles she sat among the turtles who touching where the girl had frostbitten their wounds so that they wouldn't bleed.

"Itinerary?" the girl asked as she worked. When the turtles looked at her blankly, she restated herself, feeling much like the character she was quoting from Final Fantasy X. "Where are we headed?"

"We know what itinerary means," Don said indignantly and slapped his hand over Mikey's mouth before his brother could say otherwise. "But we just woke up maybe a few hours ago. We don't know what day it is and haven't had the time to give too much thought into escaping."

"_Duh_," Raph spitefully added, not in the best of moods.

"I figured," said their rescuer, shrugging sheepishly. "But I didn't want you guys to feel like you were getting bossed around."

Their all scooted closer into the shadows as a few dark-yellow vans (all branded with the same symbol) drove by, sirens flashing.

"We'll have to leave the city," the rescuer continued. "Luckily, there haven't been any press releases about you guys, so once things cool down enough, you might be able to live here again. Before that, though... Is there anywhere you'd like to stop by before we ditch out?"

Leo addressed his brothers: "We need to explain the situation to Master Splinter and bring him."

"A fifth escapee?"

Leo nodded, turning back to the human. "Yeah. He's our father. We _can't_ leave him."

"Alright, go get him, and whatever else you think you'll need." The human held up the tracking devices she had strung together, the devices stretched far enough apart on the string so that once she let it drag behind her, it would be as if they were tailing behind her. "They'll be tracking me and these. So _hurry_. Also--" She looked at her watch. "It's one in the morning, about. I'll be at the main dock around one-thirty. Please be there to meet me by one-forty-five at the _latest_!"

"Got it."

"Wait a minute, _wait a minute_!" Raph began to snap. He glared at the human. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"..." She returned an even stare. "...I don't know."

"Well, that's just GREAT--!"

All of them froze as a dark-yellow van slowed to a stop in the streets.

"I saw something in the trees!" a woman yelled. And then there was a flashlight peeking through the leaves at them.

All five hit the ground just as two more vans screech-halted near the first. The string of tracking devices flickered momentarily against the multiple flashlights now aimed at them. The rescuer faced them, expression serious and eyes wide.

"_Go_!"

They split.

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_"You are all so close to adulthood; or perhaps...you have been there for quite some time now."_

Despite the current predicament, Leonardo would very much admit how much ease having his ninjaken back brought him. Even if he and his brothers had just escaped a laboratory, were about to flee the city, were leaving Master Splinter behind, hiding behind some crates, and putting total trust in a complete stranger with abnormal and potentially dangerous powers...at least he was armed.

_"There comes a time when parents must step aside and allow their children to the world."_

Most mysterious, though, was how Splinter had chosen to stay behind. Said he wanted them to be able to grow without him. In reality, Leo knew that Splinter had been talking about Don, Mike, and Raph. The message for Leo was all in eye contact: loud enough to be known, but not loud enough for the others to hear.

It wasn't for him.

His life had been declared once he'd been declared eldest. He would always return to Master Splinter's side, as a worthy subordinate must, and take care of his Father, as a dutiful first son should. And he was thankful that his father would grant him with the same leave as his brothers, for at least this time.

"Ow!" Raph yawped. He growled. "_Mikey_..."

"Oops. Did I hurt wittle Waphy?" The youngest brother smiled sheepishly at him, stepping away a bit. "I sowwies."

"You're gonna be _bruised_ and 'sowwies' if you don't stop using that stupid voice."

"I told you to stop waving those around five minutes ago," Don reminded.

Mikey just raised his nunchucks higher. "I can't help it! I've been apart from them for too long. Good thing Master Splinter was keeping 'em safe and warm. Were you two good boys for Grampa Splinter? I bet you were! I bet your were!"

"_Ow_!" Raph exclaimed again. He advanced on the orange-clad turtle. "That's fucking it."

"Oh, come on," Mike chuckled, though nervousness bled through his grin and he stopped spinning his nunchucks. "That barely grazed you."

Raph cracked his knuckles. "And this, little brother, will barely graze _you_."

"See, now, this is--" Don sighed.

"Ow ow _ow_, Raph!"

"Take what's comin' to you with more dignity!"

"--one of those times that--"

"_Ack_! Leo, Donny, help!"

"They ain't doin' _nothin_'!"

"--you should ask yourselves--"

"_Rahhh_!"

"OW!"

"--'is it really the time for this?'"

Raph had Mikey pinned just as a light fell on them.

The source of the beam came from a heavy-set man whose voice came out breathy. "What the _hell_ are--?"

Then a shadow dropped behind him and a blow connected, resulting in a grunt and the man was lowered ungracefully to the ground. Michelangelo grinned apologetically to his brothers before all four turtles turned back to their familiar stranger. Before a word between them could be exchanged, though, a second human's voice called out.

"Mel?" he said.

The turtles ducked back down behind the crates and the girl slinked back into the dark as well.

A second flashlight beam appeared, trailing over his friend's fallen body. "Melchore, what--_urgh_!"

He dropped down as well. The rescuer toed him over crouching down to place her palm on the cement. Ice skimmed over the area just as the turtles moved from their hiding place.

"Are they...?" Leo trailed off.

"Out _cold_," the girl joked lightly as she regarded them with a sly smile. "If we're lucky enough, he'll just think he imagined it all. They'll both just think they slipped on the ice."

"Ignoring the fact that it was a random ice patch towards the end of spring, you mean?" Don brought up dryly.

"It's New York, right? Anything goes." She began backing into the shadows, and they followed her, now in their element.

She looked around to them, and had to squint to get barely hints of where they were.

"You've done this before," she noted.

"Dude," Mikey said. "_Ninjas_."

"Huh. Ninja turtles. That's always fun." But her slightly bewildered gaze betrayed her dismissive tone.

She turned and began to run. They followed easily, dodging the light and able to do acrobatics that she was less capable of, all the while blending perfectly with the darkness. Even with so much security, a knockout here and a distraction-before-running there, the four turtles and human made the wide plot their playground.

"Why are you helping us?" Leo finally asked as they had to back into another metal wall.

A slate of ice molded into the stranger's palm--a makeshift mirror--as she checked for what lay around the corner. "I found some codes about you guys." She signaled and they were running behind her again. "So, I broke them, found out about you, and as I got more codes relating to you guys, I was able to intercept pictures also."

A open-doored building lay ahead of them, orange-shaded light shining from the entrance and into the lot.

The group fell into silence, and the turtles realized they were going in there as the stranger began to edge towards the door.

They all froze, holding their breaths as a small towing vehicle passed them, four cars of crates attached and rolling with it. The five escapists had been only half-hidden in shade, but the driver hadn't seemed to notice them.

"You didn't look like you were there willingly," the stranger finished and took into a new direction.

Don frowned at the statement and dodged near her briefly to speak: "Knocked out and behind iron bars say as much."

They all looked to her as she paused in her steps. When they realized she was trying to devise a way to get in without being seen, they merely reminded her that they were ninjas and proceeded as they normally would on a mission, resorting to one of them carrying her in.

Lightning-fast scans and quick feet got them a secure hiding place behind a grouping of metal crates near plane.

"Not the bars," the stranger continued to converse. Her voice was thin and low, but they were crouched down together so all of them could hear. While speaking, she lifted her head slightly, raising her eye-level just above the height of the crate as she turned away from them to survey their surroundings. "It was the shackles... You guys had...shackles...and chains..."

"There," Leo whispered, making her jump. Her words made them all curious, but their first priority was escape. "No one's looking. _Now_."

Once again they were only four quick movements (one of them had the responsibility of moving their rescuer), a combination of wind and shadow and late-hours to the humans loading the plane.

Once in, none dared to speak or even gesture or side-glance one another. Time moved so slow and thick and the entire event could be scene as a single, prolonged close call. Finally, there was only one loader left in the place. As she pushed the last crate into place, one of her colleagues called out: "Don't forget--Char said to leave this in there, too."

"Why?" the loader asked. "Isn't that a fire hazard?"

"Dunno. Maybe it's not working. He said not to worry about it."

There was a soft clang as something was set down near one of the crates. An electric lantern, Mike would relay to the others after a dodgey glance from his hiding spot. The loader exited and the light disappeared from the hold with a finalizing metallic slam.

The party was able to relax at last once the extensively loud whirring of the plane propellers began to hum.

Movement, though, didn't start until after lift-off, after the steady climb in altitude stopped. Then, Raph gruffly moved away from them to the far crate nearest to the entrance. The others began to spread as well, stretching limbs tired from squatting and tensing and moving with quick bursts of energy only to become extremely still.

Everyone jumped slightly as light flooded their visions and quickly looked to the source. Thorn stood near the center of the cargo hold, the electrical lantern in her hands and lit.

"Where is this going?" Mikey asked as she froze the bottom of the lantern to the floor.

"New Zealand. I have a house there." Turned away from them, she threw her head back, popping something into her mouth briefly and swallowing.

"What're those?" Raph nodded suspiciously to the gesture.

"Any of you get airsick?" she asked, holding up a cylinder container labeled 'Dramamine' towards them.

They all shook their heads, though Don spoke for all of them with a smile: "We've been through worse motions than air travel."

She nodded with a shrug, hopping to sit on one of the single crates.

"That aside...," the human sighed, shaking herself off. She grinned at the turtles warmly. "I'm Thorn! It's nice to rescue you."

"Uh...it's, um, nice to..._be_ rescued!" Mikey replied awkwardly. "...By you!"

"Yeah, thank you," Leo said, stepping forward. "For doing this for me and my brothers."

Thorn raised an eyebrow. "Four brothers? That father of yours must have a hard time."

Leo smiled. "You have no idea."

"By the way, my name's Michelangelo!" Mikey said, already warming up to the stranger. "But everyone calls me Mike or Mikey!"

"My name's Donatello," Donny said, joining the conversation. "You can just call me Don."

"And I'm Leonardo," Leo told the human with an affirmed nod.

"Or Leo?" Thorn asked.

Leo shrugged, smiling. "Sure."

"What about him?"

The three looked over to a part of the cargo area that was covered in shadow, where their fourth sat broodingly on a crate of his own.

"What's your name?" Thorn tried with him.

"It's Raphael," Raph grumbled, and gave no nickname thereafter.

Mikey snickered, jumping next to Thorn onto the crate. "Don't worry about _him_. He's always had trouble making friends."

Thorn just nodded. "Understandable. I don't really like meeting new people either." She blinked and then stared at them. "Not that I don't like meeting you guys! I just... Well, it's not like I go out of my way to make friends, y'know? I mean, not that breaking into a secret laboratory isn't going out of my way--not that I _minded_--not that I just saved you guys to make friends..." She shook her head, sighing. "Y'know what? I'll stop now."

"It's fine; I get what you're trying to say," Leo chuckled. He stopped and hesitated for a moment. "I think so, at least..."

"I'm just wondering how you got ahold of a plane that ships hay from New York to New Zealand," Don murmured, staring at the insides of the cargo hold. "I mean, talk about 'out of the way'..."

Thorn shrugged. "Normally, they wouldn't, but my friend kind of owns this plane and a shipment business, so I guess he pulled some strings." She paused, looking perplexed. "...Or something. You know, I'm not quite sure _how_ we got a plane. But I think we should just be happy we were able to."

She jumped off the crate she sat on and motioned for Mikey to get off. Once he did, she began to remove the crate's lid.

"We're lucky, too." She let the lid slide to the ground and climbed onto the revealed hay. "We could've been stuck with a plane shipping salt or coal or something."

Mikey jumped on also, immediately taking a relaxed position. "I'm not complaining _one bit_!"

With a laugh, Thorn threw herself back onto the hay. "And so...the day ends with a mission success! But the unlikely crew wasn't quite out of hot water, yet...!"

"Would you _stop_ with that narratin'?" Raphael snapped from his area.

Michelangelo started laughing.

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They took turns staying up, though anyone would doubt that Leo or Raph could truly rest under watch of a stranger--amicable as she came off to be.

The plane began to descend on Raph's watch, after Thorn's, and he woke them up with a strange mix of consideration and carelessness. The intent behind it was to be gentle in rousing his brothers from long-desired sleep, at the same time show the stranger that she was not trusted yet.

"Remember--try to land on your shells," she instructed before opening the cargo hold.

The winds howled in and her hair went wild. Below, the ground rolled past like film. Thorn scanned it, and signaled when it was time. They jumped out.

Which might've been suicide. (Leo had actually refused for them to jump until the plane descended a bit more, before Thorn reminded him that she had 'special powers', for lack of better terms.) But Thorn was able to convince them to jump just before they caught the cliff-face which turned to a slick slide of ice, easing them down into the thick forest of trees.

After that, it was a matter of long walking. During which, even Michelangelo inevitably fell quiet due to exhaustion.

But all the weariness seemed to melt as the sign of being able to finally rest arrived.

It was a small house--as small as a two-story could get--just a bit more humble than the trees surrounding it. It was also very plain-looking; but looked welcoming at least. Very much like that farmhouse of Casey's.

"Welcome to mi casa!" Thorn exclaimed as she swung open the door. "One of them, at least. Here in the livingroom, we have a TV equipped with satellite!"

"Awesome!" Mikey cheered loudly, dashing into the room and spinning around, trying to take everything in at once.

Raph strode past him, immediately sinking down onto the three-seated couch and plucking the remote from the cushions to turn on the television. "Sweet. Hey, Donny, why don't you try gettin' _us_ this back at the lair?"

"Direct TV, Raph, is actually a lot more reliable than satellite," Don answered, though he plopped down on the couch a seat away from Raph.

"Outta the way, Mike; your big ass is blockin' the screen."

"Your words don't hurt me!" Mikey sniffed dramatically, sitting between his two brothers, but leaning more towards Don. "Everyone is beautiful in their own way."

Thorn was closing the door and locking it, continuing with her verbal tour of the house. "There are four bedrooms waiting upstairs for those who choose to retire for the night. The kitchen's over there--" She pointed to an area slightly closed off from the livingroom, where wood changed to tile, indicating where one room ended and one room began. "Unfortunately, we don't have internet access, but I'm working on it."

She stepped forward, crossing the room, towards a door next to the couch (her path was parallel to the stairwell).

"Also, just in case the occasion calls for it..."

Thorn opened the closet door just behind the turn of the stairway. She dragged out a heavy box and grabbed a hanger off a metal pole just above eye-level. She then slipped the hanger in-between two crooked planks of wood and was able to pull out a mass of arranged planks stuck together, revealing a passage in the floor.

"This goes to the basement," Thorn said, holding her arms to it like she was selling a car. "If you guys know how to keep quiet, they'll never find you unless they burn the place!" At the expressions on their faces, she quickly added, "Not that they'd be _able_ to burn it! I use _ice_ for fighting, remember?"

"Hey! Hey! Thorn!" Mikey exclaimed, hand raised and waving. "D'you got anything to eat?"

She turned to them, eyes widening and then she palmed her face with a grimace. "Dammit! I _knew_ I forgot something."

She made a beeline to the kitchen, and as the turtles watched her open and close a few cabinets and then the fridge, it became apparent that, no, there wasn't anything to eat. On cue, all four turtle stomachs grumbled.

Thorn grimaced apologetically. "Look, sorry. There's a river not too far from here. You guys can chill here, while I go see if there's any fish to be had."

It became quiet. The other three seemed to be looking at Leo, who blinked back to Thorn.

She held up her hands. "Or you guys can come with, make sure I don't do anything suspicious; whatever."

+-+-+-+-+

The sound of flowing water could be heard after just a little deeper into the forest, past the house.

Everything was just a world of dark dabbed with silver as they walked, but the turtles could make out the vague shape of Thorn ahead of them and just followed that.

The moon was bright enough to make the sky appear blue, and when they got to the point of approaching the stream that Thorn had been leading them to, the petite rapids sparkled playfully through.

"I don't see any fish...," Don murmured, scanning the rippling surface.

Thorn was forming what looked to be a long, rigid pole of ice in her hands. "Yeah, this isn't exactly their thriving time--ope!"

In a quick motion, she had the end of the pole submerged in the river. Then, hastily, she flicked the pole upwards. What looked to be a chunk of ice detached from the end of the pole, landing on the ground behind Thorn. Curiously, the four turtles surrounded the frozen block. Almost not visible due to the frost of the ice and the lack of light of the hour, was a fish inside the ice block, frozen solid.

"Whoa," Don said, nudging the frozen fish with his bo staff.

"Alright!" Mikey whooped, turning away from the circle of his brothers to shout to Thorn. "I call whichever one turns out to be the biggest!"

"We just got lucky," Thorn warned. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's the last one we'll ever see tonight."

She turned back to the water.

Then--and maybe it was how late-slash-early it was, or the exhaustion of what had happened in a single evening--they started asking questions. The turtles. The concept of what would be rude or polite melted away into an easiness between them.

Where are you from?

_Up north._

How'd you get to New York?

_Bus._

Why d'you got powers?

_I was born with them._

Her answers were always brief, but her tone was stayed pleasant and open. Her message became clear: She wasn't going to bore them with unwelcome details, but if they wanted to know more, they were welcome to ask.

How old are you?

_Seventeen._

Where are your parents?

_At their place._

When're you gonna catch some fuckin' fish, already?

_...When I do?_

By the time she did catch enough fish for everyone, it was late enough into the night that no one cared for food anymore--just sleep. Leo hadn't asked any questions of his own, but he felt his brothers asked plenty.

They now knew Thorn always dressed the way she did and wasn't just dressing nice because that's what she did when she wanted to break into laboratories. They knew that though she had inherited her powers through family, she didn't receive them from her parents. They knew her real name was indeed Thorn and it wasn't a nickname or codename. They knew that her parents weren't worried (she had said, "--don't really give a crap--") about whatever she did and _no, it's not one of THOSE kinds of things, so don't look at me like that_.

Because of her powers, she was basically like an ice pack made to look like a human. She practically thrived in cold and though she was less efficient in heat, she could maintain her temperature to be as chilly a degree as she pleased to combat it. She could conjure as well as control ice at will, but could only freeze what she could touch (i.e. she wasn't able to look at a spot on the floor five feet away and make icicles appear).

Once the party arrived back at the small house, the fish were thrown to defrost in the fridge overnight.

Leo watched his brothers lumber up the stairs to the three of the four bedrooms waiting. Leo claimed the livingroom couch so that Thorn could get the fourth bed, but she just shrugged, tossed him a pillow and blanket from the fourth room and stepped out.

He'd watched her pass the window (the one behind the TV, next to the door) from the outside and she never came back in. Leo must've fallen asleep waiting, because the next thing he knew, the blanket was kicked to the floor and his back was aching dully from sleeping sitting-up. He blinked towards the doorway and saw that it was unlocked, but was still half-sleeping so he couldn't be angry at Thorn for being careless like that.

But he looked at the window at this new angle and there she was. Standing outside. Smoking.

He was suddenly awake.

Leonardo opened the door and though it was a warm night, the breeze made his muscles tense in slight shiver. Thorn blinked at him, blue eyes shining white under the moon. _Like ice_, Leo's mind spoke in murmur.

"You smoke?" he asked, closing the door behind him quietly.

She flicked the ashes, eyeing him warily. "You mind?"

"It's your own business, I guess," he answered with a shrug before folding his arms, trying not to wrinkle his beak at the smell. "And at least you're doing it outside."

She nodded, brought the cig to her lips, inhaled, exhaled. "Courtesy. Second hand kills more people, y'know?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe you should go inside before it gets you?"

Leo smiled and his voice was more edged than he'd meant it to be. "I'm fine."

To this she said nothing and Leo's gaze drifted to the forest.

"What do you do?" he asked suddenly. His question for her.

It was poorly worded. Before Leo could elaborate, she answered him:

"I wait. I watch."

For some reason, that was enough. "...I can relate."

+-+-+-+-+

Leo woke up to Raph nudging him and telling him to move over, and then remembered he had slept on the couch.

He made room for his brother, eyes still bleary and closing as he listened to his other brothers shuffling around in the kitchen and frying fish for breakfast. The TV turned on by the click of a remote control and Raph yawned, in turn making Leo yawn, and the two began the process of sobering up after a night's good sleep before Mikey finally called them for breakfast.

By then, Raph was all pumped for the morning and ready to go, already picking fights with everyone. Mikey was literally bouncing off everything, walls to furniture and vice versa in the cramped kitchen, provoking the hothead with a mad grin. Don was energetic as well, using this situation for amusement; he kept siding with one brother at one moment and then switching to gaslight them both. Leo remained quiet, though he wasn't completely detached from what was going on.

"Hey, wait a sec," Mikey said, giggles suddenly gone. "Where's Thorn?"

"Sleeping, maybe," Leo answered, waiting for Don to get his share of breakfast before starting on it himself. "I haven't seen her sleep since we got here."

A quiet settled over them, then.

"So, then, fearless...," Raph spoke, clearing the throat of the conversation. "Whatta _you_ make o' this situation?"

The other two brothers turned to the de facto leader as well.

"Well, she _seems_ trustworthy," Leonardo began, slowly recalling and studying any memory he had of her. "And she hasn't done anything _too_ suspicious, like dodge questions. And she hasn't really asked questions of her own."

"Master Splinter had no presentiments about her," Don added.

"But Master Splinter never actually _met_ her," Raph reminded them.

"_I_ think she's good," Mikey declared. "If she was _really_ bad news, wouldn't Sensei have, like, some kinda weirdo psychic-vision about it or something?"

"She's been nothing short of friendly to us," Don murmured. "Sure, it could be just a mask to get us to let our guard down, but I still feel bad about judging her like this behind her back."

"We're just trying to be safe, here, Don," Leo assured him. "If she's as genuine as she makes herself to be, then she'd probably understand."

The four brothers jumped as the front door burst open. Thorn rushed inside and shoved her back against it, slamming it shut. Her fingers hastily locked it and she blinked, noticing them in the kitchen.

"Everyone underground!"

Raph scoffed, pushing himself off the countertop. "Well, what's happened that's got _you_ barkin' orders?

Thorn cursed, turning to face him. "We've got company--company in big trucks full of people with guns! Any other way I need to say it?"

Raph was already forward with his sai out and a wild smirk on his face. "Well, if it's a fight they're lookin' for--"

"_No_!" Thorn got herself into a readied stance, prepared to block Raph if he tried anything. "If we're going to keep hiding you here, we have to keep a low profile!"

His brothers were already heading for the closet. Mikey was sliding down the passage to the hiding spot.

"Come _on_, Raph," Leo called to his brother as Don went next.

There was the sound of trucks braking nearby, and the voices could be heard.

"Rgh... Fine, fine," Raph relented, following suit as Leo disappeared.

Once Raph was down, Thorn hurriedly replaced the cover of planks and pushed the box into place.

She paused. "None of you guys are claustrophobic, right?"

"Kinda _late_ for that, ain't it?" Raph spat.

She took that as an okay and shut the closet door just as there was a booming knock at the front door.

At first, Thorn just peered out the window to see just how many guys there were... The trucks weren't as big as she'd thought. And neither were the guns. The uniformed folk weren't even wearing gas masks or black...and there were probably about two dozen of them as most.

The pounding on the door repeated itself, this time more impatiently.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there!" Thorn answered, putting a lazy tone to her voice. She opened the door only slightly, and found herself being shoved back as the door was pushed open all the way. "Aren't we polite, now?"

Two well-fleshed persons stood before her, one with sunglasses, both with guns. Not that she was ever good at describing or naming guns, but she could at least tell they were a lot bigger than a couple of pistols.

"We'd just like a look around," the One Without the sunglasses said.

The One With sunglasses stepped up around Thorn to get inside the home, but she leaned forward, her fist catching the wall and she was able to make an aggressive barrier against him.

"I'm sure you _would_," Thorn said. "Got a warrant?"

Both visitors laughed a little.

"Where do you think this is?" the One Without snickered. "The States?"

He pushed her aside and the One With followed.

Thorn blinked and thought about it, and embarrassingly enough, she couldn't even remember if people needed a search warrant to invade a house in New Zealand. She glowered, watching them as they overturned the couch, training their guns on the revealed floor and then moved onto other areas.

The One With headed for the closet, while the One Without marched towards the kitchen.

Thorn watched with narrowed eyes as the One With roughly pulled out the heavy box and pointed his gun at the otherwise empty closet. As he moved on, Thorn subtly pushed the box back into place. The One Without walked back from the kitchen after shoving the fridge from its original spot and reached towards the television.

"Don't touch the TV."

Both men glanced at Thorn and then exchanged smirks. The One Without touched the rim of the television set and tensed slightly as she suddenly found the homeowner's cold grip around her wrist. She scowled at Thorn, while the latter's calm expression carried only a hint of warning.

Her voice said the same. "I'm serious. My older sister's gonna be pissed."

There was a clicking noise. The One With had his gun pointed at Thorn.

She didn't even look at him. "Try it. I _hate_ it when my older sister gets pissed."

He fired...

...

And the trucks sped away from the house, carrying a few unconscious with everyone else possessing newly-broken bones.

Thorn chuckled unhumorously. It really wasn't funny. Her older sister really would've been pissed. And she really did hate it when her older sister got pissed. Besides, she was able to beat them without making her powers obvious.

"What happened to keeping a low profile?" Leo asked sardonically from the doorway.

Thorn grinned sheepishly with a shrug, facing the four brothers who had let themselves out from the hiding place. "It's not like I really revealed myself."

"You mean your ice-demon powers," Mike teased lightly.

"Psh. 'Ice-demon'..." She shook her head, walking towards them. "I think they were mainly just your enemies, anyway. Otherwise, they would've taken...better precaution. Chances are, though, they'll get smart about the situation and ally with my enemies... 'Enemy of my enemy is my friend' and all that."

"An' that's when we gotta move," Raph filled in duly.

Don nodded with a frown. "Because your enemies know how to deal with you."

Thorn offered a twisted smile. "Only _one_ of my enemies knows how to truly 'deal with me'." She shook her head. "But, yeah, if that one ever got involved, it _would_ be time to move."

+-+-+-+-+

It took him a while to realize that he'd been falling asleep with ease lately, which was odd. For him, at least.

The lair was not only something he'd come to know as 'home'. It was secure with Donny's alarm systems. It held a safety net; his father was there to help him realize where exactly he went wrong in what. And it was territory he recognized. It was _safe_.

He'd always have so much trouble relaxing without the sounds of water rushing through pipes, of the sewer line swaying far away but very near; that damp, sour smell that permeated throughout that he barely noticed anymore, but contrasted so sharply against the pine air he breathed in _now_. How could he have not missed it all?

And, well...with the way things go, Leo should've known he'd fall back into his old insomniac-esc pattern once the realization hit.

So he sat on the couch, staring at his reflection against the black TV screen. Vision sharp and fuzzy all at once with black shadows and white reflections from the moon and blue in-betweens. Were this the lair, he could find solace in the dojo. But this house was so tiny; and Thorn had practically gone mortal kombat in defense of the TV set.

He could go outside... A training run through the forest seemed like a great deal of fun. He'd seen Thorn jump down from a second-story window a while ago to exit the premise. It didn't seem there was much else to do, and he should've familiarized himself with the area long ago.

He was strapping his ninjaken to his back when the front door opened, and then closed, Thorn resting a palm against the wood.

"In late?" Leo asked and bit back a snort when she jumped.

Thorn regarded him with a smile as she looked his way. "Call me paranoid."

Leo returned it slyly, cocking his head. "You don't know half of what that word means."

The two paused suddenly. To most, it would seem as if it were silent. But as moments flickered past, a gravely whine became more apparent. Thorn blinked, turning towards the window where a single headlight had appeared in the drapery of leaves and branches. The rumbling sound steadily grew louder. She opened the door again.

"Are they back?" Leo asked her, hand on one of his sword hilts.

Thorn shook her head and there was a big grin on her face. "No, it's not them."

She left the door open behind her, a sign that he could've followed her, but Leo chose to remain in the dark room, surveying the scene from the window. He watched as Thorn ran forward a little ways just as a motorcycle pulled up. She was opening her arms welcomingly as the rider stepped off it, turning it off.

Leo was too far away to hear the words, but Thorn's came out warm and friendly and were cut short as the rider promptly ripped off their helmet and tossed it at her.

Thorn was quick enough to smack the helmet to the side, words now quick and flabbergasted. Leo was surprised to see locks of inky black hair spill over the rider's shoulders, and now that he looked closely, he could see that the rider was a woman.

She countered Thorn's words, her voice cutting and shrill and angry. Thorn paused, answering a demand quietly. The other girl's yelling continued. By then, it was obvious that the two were arguing. Thorn kept her volume controlled, but her tone was cold and snappish. The newcomer's voice just rose higher and louder. Leo blinked, realizing that he wasn't alone in the living room anymore; his brothers stood at his side, sending him questioning gazes. Mikey's was sleepy, Donny's a bit more agitated, and Raph was blatantly annoyed. Leo could only shake his head, and turn back to the drama scene unfolding outside.

The newcomer's voice suddenly became quiet, as did the exchange. A few words from her, a few responses from Thorn. A frustrated scream rang out, abrupt in the newfound quiet, and the newcomer was now whirling around. It would've looked silly if in the twirl she completed hadn't conjured up a slab of water from mid-air. The wave was meant for Thorn, who hadn't even bothered to move from the douse and only stood with her hands in her pockets as the water fell onto her.

The other girl was shouting loudly again, gesturing towards the house and back to Thorn and then to herself. Still in the middle of rambles, she walked past Thorn to retrieve her helmet, and with an exaggerated huff mounted her bike.

Thorn spoke suddenly, quietly. The newcomer turned towards and snarled something unfriendly. Thorn stomped forward at the statement and said loud enough for the turtles to hear "FUCKIN' B--"

Sound was cut off as the hog roared to life. Dust kicked into the air and then, the young woman was gone.

The four turtles exchanged glances as Thorn walked heatedly back towards the house, water still treading off her by the time she reached the door. She entered the home with an exasperated sigh, slicking back her wet hair and closing the door.

She turned back to see the living room full of turtles and smiled apologetically with humility. "Sorry. Did that wake you?"

"Bike didn't, broad did," Raph said and Don hissed out "_Raph_!"

Thorn didn't seem to take offense, only shaking her head as she made her way to the kitchen. "Yeah, well, Teazel has always had that mean streak of hers."

"Teazel?" Mikey asked in a way that pressed for more information than just explanation of the name.

"My elder sister." A dim light filled the room as the fridge was opened. Thorn glowered at its emptiness. "She was angry that I freed you guys without her permission. Said it was _my_ problem to keep us fed now--I _swear_ if we were in switched places, she'd demand food within twenty-four hours."

"She was just concerned for you, I bet," Leo countered. "You did something without her permission; you broke us out. She was probably worried sick about what could've happened to you."

There was a snort and Leo's gaze turned into a glare, questioning it. Thorn shook her head, waving off the humor.

She met Leo's eyes with a bemused smile. "You don't know Teazel."

"But, from what I gather, she's somewhat in charge of you guys," Leo continued. Thorn didn't respond, so he assumed he was correct and went on. "I was put in charge of my brothers, so to speak. So I can kind of relate. I'd be angry, too."

Again, Thorn shook her head. "Not all first-borns are like _you_, Leo. Teazel isn't."

+-+-+-+-+

Helicopters are loud.

Yes.

The four turtle brothers were disgruntled to say the least, of being woken up before ready for the second time. They shouldn't complain, one might argue; after all, they are _ninja_ and they train and must rise early for training. But some old habits are quite easy to break. Of course, the state of half-slumber that held them immediately vanished once they realized that it was a _helicopter_ which meant _more humans_ and the chance of those 'more humans' being enemies instead of friends was VERY LIKELY.

When they scrambled down the stairs, weapons in hand, out the already-open door, they could see the helicopter descending into what could be a near-by clearing. They caught a glimpse of Thorn's back disappearing into the forest towards the bird before they followed after her.

It had landed by the time they arrived, Thorn already approaching it as the propellers began to slow from the frantic hum to a steady beat.

"_Thistle_!" Thorn shouted when the helicopter had quieted down enough.

A girl skipped out from the chopper after removing her headmuffs and Thorn rushed to meet her.

She was a slight height taller than either Thorn or Teazel, though her skin held the same deep bronze color and her eyes the same wet blue. There was an array of rubber bands and cute charm bracelets on her wrists, as well as a watch on her left. Her hair was short, but long enough to fall loosely around her jawline. She wore an earth-brown sleeveless and thin-fabric hoodie over a more fitted, white shirt with sleeves that ran only down to her elbows.

Her faded jeans were adorned by a black belt worn out of the beltloops, studded by bottle caps. Around her neck were three necklaces: one a long, skinny chain stringing around a strange metal symbol; one a shorter-lengthed black string that held a round stone colored with mixed blues; the last on beaded thread that attached to a smiling cartoon-like frog-face that bumped against the blue stone.

Suddenly, Thorn's hand was swinging up to encircle the girl's throat, joining the necklaces.

"What _time_ is it, Thistle?" Thorn demanded with a mad grin.

'Thistle' yelped at first, grasping at the offending limb, but the expression on her face was purely annoyed.

"Thorn, I'm _not_ in the mood!" Thistle snapped.

"_What time is it_, Thistle?"

"THORN! Ugh! It's not seven forty-one, Thorn, it's eight fifty-six."

"Damn straight!" Thorn lightly jabbed her on the stomach. "How did you find me? And what's with the helicopter?"

Thistle huffed, folding her arms stiffly, obviously not in the best of moods. "Teazel told me to come here with food." She groaned. "I _hate_ flying the helicopter, Thorn! It's too loud!"

"Yeah, I hate that noise..." Thorn murmured in a way that showed she didn't really care. "So..._Teazel_ sent you? Funny. I thought she was PMSing over the turtle-rescue-thing."

"Teazel? Uh, _yeah_, she was angry."

"Like..._how_ angry?"

"Like, she was cussing you out and stuff. It's so weird to hear her cuss." Thistle's gaze traveled to something behind Thorn and her words faded a little.

"I _know_. She sounds like a kid trying to be cool; I hate it." Thorn turned to face what Thistle was looking at and saw the boys behind herself. "This is them. The turtles. Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, 'n' Michelangelo."

"Nice...names," Thistle trailed off.

Thorn grinned, linking arms with her and facing the turtles. "And this, guys, is my sister! Thistle."

"...Hi."

"Hey, there!" Mikey greeted immediately. "Call me 'Mikey'!"

"...Okay."

"Another sister?" Don asked with a friendly smile. "Got anymore where this one came from?"

Thorn shook her head. "Nah. There's just the three of us. Teazel is the oldest, I'm in the middle, and Thistle's the younger one."

"I'm the youngest, too!" Mikey continued, chatting lightly with Thistle. "It's such a drag sometimes, though, having three older brothers..."

"I _know_, it SUCKS!" Thistle declared in immediate connection.

"Oh, stop complaining." Thorn rolled her eyes. "You love being the baby and you know it."

Thistle frowned, kicking dirt. "Yeah..."

Thorn released her, stepping towards the helicopter. "Better get this food inside before it spoils..." She began to walk away. "Be quick about it, Thistle."

"_WHAT_?" was the shrill squawk in response.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"_I hate you_!"

+-+-+-+-+

There wasn't that much food to move. A small box for each of them to carry in one trip to the kitchen.

By then, Michelangelo had seemed to buddy up with Thorn's younger sister extremely well. It would almost appear as if he were _flirting_...but that had potential for what could be used as teasing-ammo sometime later on. Besides, after everything that'd happened, it was a silent, but mutual agreement between the other three brothers that Mikey deserved a nice happy moment.

"Anyway, I gotta blow this joint," Thistle said, once the work was done.

Thorn whirled around. "_What_? But you just _got_ here!"

"But Teazel said she wanted me to just drop off the food and that's it."

"_Noooooo_!" Thorn whined, grabbing her sister's hands. "Who cares what Teazel says? And she's pissed right now; you don't wanna go home to _that_, do you?"

Thistle thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay. I'll stay."

"Really?"

"Well, I hate it when Teazel is angry... Plus, I hate flying the helicopter--it's too loud."

"Yeah, I hate that noise... Any other reasons? It's cuz, like, you miss me, right?" Thorn grinned, nudging Thistle with her elbow.

Thistle rolled her eyes. "Sure."

"I don't think it's such a good idea to disobey your sister, Thorn," Leo spoke up.

Thorn sighed, turning to him. "_Leo_, for the last time, Teazel isn't like you. You give commands because you think that's what's in the team's best interest. Teazel gives us orders just because she's oldest and feels the need to demonstrate her authority over her."

Leo raised an eye-ridge. "And you like challenging that authority."

"_Someone_ has to."

"I can dig it," Raph agreed.

Leo shot a glare at him.

+-+-+-+-+

It was silent in the night, and dark in the house when Thorn walked in. She turned to close and lock the door.

"Up late again?"

Thorn whirled around. "_Leo_! Making me jump out of my fucking skin!"

Leo smiled slyly at her. "It seems to happen a lot."

Thorn mumbled a distorted version of his words right back at him in a taunt, but it was all humor and both knew it. "Damn ninjas."

"You're in the middle of playing ninja also, as I see it." The turtle glanced out the window. "It makes sense that it would get more dangerous the longer we stay in one place..."

"Yeah... But, I'm just double-checking," Thorn answered. "Someone might've followed Thistle here--helicopters are kinda conspicuous, you see. And, well, we can't have _everyone_ sleeping the night away vulnerably."

"'Everyone'?"

"You're a guest, Leo. You _should_ be sleeping the night away vulnerably."

Leo cocked his head to the side slightly, amused. "Old habits die hard, right? It comes with being the eldest."

"Huh. I wish _some_ people held that same regard for the title."

They both fell silent, then: Thorn as bitter thoughts resurfaced, and Leo as he considered the statement.

"She can't be so bad...," Leo finally said after a few moments. "She sent you food after she said she wouldn't."

"...Well, if there's one way to change the mind of an older sibling, it's a guilt-trip. Right, Leo?" A smirk tipped the corner of her lips as a potential scowl hid behind Leo's shadowed features. They both knew she was right. "Anyway, it's a guilt-trip, so it doesn't really count."

Another silence filled the air between them, this time with Leo introspective and Thorn the one observing.

A moment passed before Thorn wised up to Leo's hardened reaction. "But I'll _try_ understanding her better. ...Or whatever."

+-+-+-+-+

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"_AAAAAAAHHHHHH_!"

THUD.

"OW."

"I HATE YOU, THORN."

Leonardo rubbed his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head slightly; the pillow underneath it was pushed off the couch by the motion.

More thuds against the wooden floor, Thorn laughing loud and obnoxious, Thistle wailing at her.

It wasn't long before Raphael slinked downstairs and--after waving off Leo's legs--plopped heavily down upon the couch as well.

"Remind me to kill those two once I'm not half-asleep," he muttered grumpily.

"I don't think you'll need any reminding," came Don's voice from the stairs.

He stood at the halfway platform, Mikey trailing behind him. More rambunctious noise from the upper level... The turtles, now too awake to go back to sleep, were beginning to settle into what had shortly become their normal morning stations.

Finally, they heard a door slam open.

"Why'd you wake up so EARLY?" Thistle was whining.

There was the sound of something being dragged across the floor. "I didn't wake up; I stayed up all night. BLEEHHH!"

The sound of two weights colliding onto the floor. "_OH, MY GOD_. Your hands are SO cold! GO TO SLEEEEEEP."

"_I can't while you're HOLDING MY HANDS_!"

"I can't help it! It's so HOT!"

"Maybe that has to do with how YOU'RE WRAPPING YOURSELF UP IN A COMFORTER!"

"Go to sleeeeeeeep!"

"THISTLE, BEHIND YOU!"

"_WHAT_?!"

The loud sound of a smack and a thud.

"OWWW!" Thistle squealed.

Thorn's laughter was louder than ever, though this time it was paired with the pounding of her feet against the floor. The next thing the turtles knew, she was zipping down the stairs. Though in the mad dash, one of her feet slipping on her pants and she ended up fly-falling the rest of the way down, face-planting on the wooden floor with her pants yanks down to her knees.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET." Thistle had turned the corner of the stair's halfway platform just in time to see it, shouting, "JUST GO AWAY _FOREVER_!"

"Top of the morning, buddies!" Thorn said to the turtles after peeling her grinning face off the planks.

+-+-+-+-+

There was a difference in her, Leonardo noticed.

A peculiar difference. In the short time Leo had known her, he hadn't seen Thorn so high-strung and--in one word--so _happy_. She laughed louder, spoke more prominently, and (this one he noticed most of all) was a lot more casual with physical contact. Casual being, she had smacked everyone's butt at least once ("_Fuck_, if you do that _one more time_--!" Raphael had snarled on his turn), her own included for the humor of it.

Before Thistle had arrived, Thorn had been friendly, yet distant. Now it was like there were no more boundaries. She treated them as if they were all old friends who'd been housemates for the better part of ten-twenty years.

"Anyway, I'm so glad you're here," Thorn said, after putting her emptied plate on the counter; she seemed to be winding down now that she had a meal in her stomach. She grinned at Thistle. "Now _you_ can take all the morning shifts!"

Thistle blinked. "Uh...yeah, too bad I have to go back home today."

Thorn began pumping the younger sister's stomach for the fifth time that morning. "BLASPHEMY! AIR DISPENSERRRR!"

"Ow--_ow_--_ow_--just--freakin'--ate--OW--STOP!" Thistle knocked her away. "_Geez_! Stop being crazy!"

"Stop being blasphemous!"

"Look, just _call Teazel_! But I doubt she'll let me stay. I was supposed to be back yesterday, remember?"

Thorn held out her hand. "Cellular device."

Thistle didn't even bat an eyelash. "It's upstairs."

"Then, _time me_, motherfucker!"

"THORN!" Thistle yawped as Thorn flicked her forehead before making a beeline up the stairs.

Thistle exhaled, slumping in her seat as the energy of the room left. She happened to glance up, locking eyes with Raphael who had been staring at her for a while now.

"Just to let you know, you two are on my hit list," Raph said nonchalantly.

Thistle's jaw dropped. Mikey went into hysteric giggles as the other two brothers face-faulted. Before Thistle could reply, her own sibling had returned, skidding to a stop with the cellphone in her hand.

Thorn struck a dramatic pose of shock. "No reception...!" Her eyes narrowed. "We'll have to go to a more clear spot."

At that, Thorn noticed the four intent gazes on her from the other, quieter four in the room.

"What? You wanna come, too, or something?"

+-+-+-+-+

And that was how the group of six went on their nature walk.

"Geez, it's good to be outside after such a long time in harsh hiding!" Mikey yawned, thriving in the sunlight.

"Cuz, y'know, a few days is _so_ painful," Thorn remarked with light sarcasm as she raised her eyebrow at the orange-clad turtle. "And I've been _such_ a warden."

Mikey nodded. "Exactly!"

Thistle skipped past him. "This looks like a good place, older sister number 2!"

"'Number 2'?" Don echoed.

"Cuz it was Teazel who was born first."

Raph scoffed. "'Number 2'..."

He shot a side-glance at Leo who was standing a bit away from the group, looking a bit awkward in the sun. Probably too used to shadows and artificial light by now...

"Okay, shh--it's ringing," Thorn said quickly before turning away from them. Soon, a voice on the phone was heard to which Thorn greeted with a, "Hey. Older sister."

"Oh, wow, on the first number you tried?" Thistle asked.

But before any of the turtles could ask what she meant, Thorn was hushing down their volume with a few sharp waves of her hand. The voice on the other end had become a bit snappy. Thorn glanced back at the group, rolling her eyes, and in response to their questioning looks, she put the phone on speaker. Immediately, a string of words swirled free into the air.

-"--stupid and irresponsible and freakin' ridiculous! And you know what else? You're wasting all my minutes--"-

"No, that's _you_," Thorn finally retorted. "I just wanted to ask _one_ question 'n' you go off--"

"_What do you want_?"

"Well, since you don't need Thistle where you're at, I was wondering if she could stay with me for--"

"No."

"_Teeeeeeaaaaz_!" Thorn groaned into the phone. "_Please_ let Thistle stay?!"

-"NO. It's your own fault--I don't even know why you _had_ to save the turtles--it was none of YOUR business--so you can just deal with it yourself--we have enough problems in our hands without you going off and--"-

"OKAY, OKAY. Thistle's coming back--_gosh_!" Thorn hung up angrily. She turned to give the cellphone back to Thistle. "_Well_, good luck going home to THAT!"

"I'm not _too_ worried," Thistle chirped, putting the phone into her jeans' pocket. "She's not too bad if I stay away from her; and I just play video games, anyway. She'll just be angry about _you_."

"You sound way too happy about that... Don't you feel bad for me or _anything_? What a cold sister!"

"But I _do_!" Thistle frowned. "I'm sure it sucks."

"Don't feel bad, Thistle," Leo stepped in. "It's Thorn's own fault getting Teazel angry."

"It doesn't even _have_ to be my fault," Thorn huffed. "Teazel _always_ has a reason to be angry."

Leo turned to face her. "Because you always give her one!"

At the raised voice, Thorn stepped up her own. "The only reason you always take her side is because she's the oldest, like you, isn't it?!"

"_Of course not_!" Leonardo said automatically, offended.

"Freakin' ingroup-bias always fucking people over!" The tension in the air was now partially relieved by the theatrical yell Thorn raised to the skies. "WHY?"

"Are you _done_?" Thistle cut in, half-laughing.

Mikey placed a hand on her shoulder and said solemnly, "It is _never_ done."

Thorn and Leo turned sharply, then, and by their tense stature, the others stilled as well.

In a swift movement, the party had moved themselves into deeper brush. In the not-so-distant distance, they were able to hear heavy footfall and sharp voices, one of them shouting, "I heard it coming from here!" The footsteps sounded closer.

"We're gonna have to fight," Raph growled, hands at his sais.

"_No_," Leo and Thorn hissed. They exchanged blank glances.

"I'll distract them," Thorn finally decided. She tapped Thistle on the shoulder and handed back her cellphone. "Lead 'em back to the house and keep quiet 'til I get there, got it?"

"That's too risky for you," Leo countered.

Thorn flashed a lazed smile at him. "I heal."

With that, she slipped away before anyone could make an argument. Within moments, they were jumping at the sound of gunfire. And judging by the sound of bullet whistles, they were definitely in proximity to getting shot. They moved away.

"Is Thorn always so cocky?" Leo sighed to Thistle.

"'Cocky'," Raphael snorted. "Just cuz you're not used to bein' the one bossed around, Leo--"

Leo fumed at the assumption, but managed to control his voice. "That's _not_ what it's about."

"_Dudes_!" Mikey shouted.

That was right before they all hit the ground. Where they once stood, leaves and small pieces of branches were falling, knocked free by the slew of bullets barraging past.

"So much for the distraction!" Don yelled over the sound.

But they all fell silent as the gunfire stopped.

"We know someone's hiding there," a sharp voice barked. "Reveal yourself!"

Behind them, a group of camo-clad people stood, firearms trained in their direction.

The woman shouted out once more. "_Well_?"

The turtles exchanged glances with each other and Thistle, all slowly getting into sitting and kneeling positions. Before any of them could get to standing, though, Thorn appeared, a guilty look on her face, and waved them back down. Then, she walked through the curtain of leaves to the waiting mercenaries.

"You found me," Thorn said. "I lose."

"You," the leader hissed. He stepped forward. "You're the one who broke into the lab, aren't you?" He trained his gun on her. "Where'd you hide 'em?"

Leo felt Thistle tense beside him and saw that as she raised her hands slightly that clouds of mist had appeared around her palms, as well the edge of the clearing. She stilled suddenly, noticing the path of ice that had strung towards them under the leaves; Thorn had her hand backed towards them. _Keep quiet_, the pose said.

"The turtles," Thorn mused, "left a little while ago. You just missed 'em."

"Of course," the leader said. "I won't doubt that. We saw the chopper comin' in. What we wanna know...is where you smuggled 'em to."

A few more mercenaries entered the clearing from behind Thorn, aiming their firearms on her as well.

"So, here's where I assume that you're smart enough to know what your choices are," the leader snickered, triumph flashing in his eyes.

"And here's where I reinforce how stupid _you_ are," Thorn responded smoothly. "The turtles are still here."

"What?"

"The turtles. Are still here."

"_Bullshit they are_!" The leader grabbed Thorn by her collar, yanking her up. "Where. _Are_. They?"

She grinned. "Here!"

The leader whirled around, pistol-whipping her across the face and knocking her down. He pointed at his squad. "You said you saw an unidentified bird in the area!"

The same woman who'd been yelling earlier was the one who answered him. "We...we _did_, sir! And for what other reasons would a stray bird fly somewhere so remote? It was for the turtles--I'm sure of it! Little cunt's just tryin' to fuck with you!"

"No, I'm _telling_ you!" Thorn was yelling messily, and maybe it was just the angle, but to the turtles it seemed like a slight grin was picking up at the corners of her mouth. "They're still here, _I swear_!"

The leader hit her again, grounding her.

"Lyin' cunt," he growled.

He kicked her and Thorn's body jolted and she grunted before cringing. He turned away from her then, waving for two lackeys to move in and drag her up by the arms and tie her with ropes. Then, the group began to move out, captive Thorn and all.

The turtles were all revved to tail behind, but Thistle was already pulling back...and the four followed her instead.

+-+-+-+-+

Thistle had rushed inside the house, leaving the turtles to close the door behind them. But once inside, a calm expression settled over her features, as if there was no more danger so long as they stayed inside.

"We comin' up with a plan or what?" Raph said, a sai lifted.

Thistle only shook her head, pulling out a cellphone from her pocket and began dialing.

"Who ya gonna call?" Mikey jested lightly.

Thistle didn't get it and just glanced at him as she waited for the other end to pick up. "Teazel."

The name registered quicker in Leo's mind than the others'. "Your oldest sister."

Thistle nodded and blinked as a computerized voice answered. She grunted, hanging up and began dialing a new number.

"Who, now?" Don asked.

"Teazel." Another computerized voice. With a sigh, Thistle hung up and tried a new number.

"How many numbers does this chick _got_?" Raph huffed impatiently.

Thistle opened her mouth to answer, but a click sounded on the phone and she blinked as real-time sound sang from the phone instead of a message machine.

-"What do you need?"- asked an uppity voice on the other end, along with distracting background noise. It came loud enough for the turtles to hear.

Thistle swallowed, looking unsure, before answering. "Thorn got caught."

-"Hold on..."- There was a shuffling sound and the loud background became quieter by a fraction. -"Okay, now, what'd you say?"-

"Uh...Thorn got caught."

-"What are you talking about?"-

Thistle scratched her head, unsure of how to elaborate. "Uh...well, these guys came, you see, and...they kinda captured her and took her away."

-"_What_?"-

"You have a way with words, kid," Raph said dryly.

"_Fine_, then!" Thistle frowned indignantly, shoving the phone to him. "_Here_! _You_ talk to her!"

To her surprise, Raph grabbed the phone as if taking up a challenge and brought the receiver to his mouth. "Hey, Thorn's in trouble." He shoved the cell back into Thistle's bewildered hands and she almost dropped it.

"Um, did you hear it right?"

-"Who the heck was _that_?"-

"Uh..." Thistle glanced over to the red-clad turtle who was now yawning. "Raphael."

-"_Who_?"- Before Thistle could answer, the voice came again. -"This is because of those stupid _turtles_, isn't it?"-

"_Stupid_?" Mikey and Raph squawked.

But the voice continued in a flurry of angry words. -"Well, Thorn can just get herself out of this one! She saves some turtles without telling us, she has the nerve to ask for food shipment, and now she expects me to just run down there and save her from something that's _her_ fault?"- Thistle winced, holding the speaker away from her ear as the voice rose in volume and pitch. -"Think AGAIN! You tell her that, too! Tell her she's ridiculous and to STOP CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR THE REST OF US."-

The sound cut off then and Thistle blinked, looking at the phone's screen. "...She hung up."

"So what's the plan?" Leo asked her.

The girl blinked, as if surprised that he would ask her such a thing. "Uh... We wait for Thorn, I guess."

"Wait, wait," Don cut in. "Did you forget? Thorn's_ captured_. You expect her to just break herself out of there without revealing herself?"

"Well..." Thistle avoided the gazes directed at her, shifting her weight between her feet. "When Teazel doesn't wanna help, we just don't."

"You just ditch out on your sister?" Mikey asked incredulously.

Thistle threw her hands up in mock defense. "She always gets out anyway whether we help her or not! It's not like it's a big deal--"

"A '_big deal_'?" Raph echoed. "That's one o' your own in captivity!"

Everyone paused as a low-quality song hit the air. Thistle looked down at her palm and flipped open her cellphone.

"Uh, hello?"

-"Thistle."-

"_Thorn_?"

At that answer, the others hurried closer to listen in and Thistle hurried to put the phone on speaker. Thorn's collected voice filled the room, though it sounded strangely muffled, as if she was speaking through a window to the receiver.

-"Yo. Didja call Teazel, yet?"-

"Um, yeah. ...Thorn, what do we do? She told us not to help you."

Thorn's sigh was heard. -"Dammit. That would've made things so much easier..."- There was a slight pause, as if she were scanning her surroundings. -"I mean, it's far from impossible to get out...but getting out without causing too much of a ruckus and/or without revealing us just could be."-

"How are you talking to us?" Leo asked. "Did they give you a phone?"

-"..._Leo_? How are you ta--am I on _speaker_? Dammit, Thistle, you _know_ I hate speaker!"-

"Sorry!" Thistle exclaimed. "They wanted to listen in!"

"Never mind that!" Leo said, exasperated. "Look, Thorn, did they give you a phone?"

-"Of course not!"- Thorn snorted. -"My current guards got a careless moment. I...kinda 'have' their phone in result. The two I got it from are still unconscious as we speak. Listen, though... It seriously sucks here. My cage is an _oven_."-

Thistle blinked. "Wait, does that mean they already know--?"

-"_Maybe_. But they could use this on _anyone_ they wanted information out of. Still, I guess we can't afford any slip-ups."-

"Yeah..." Thistle swallowed, frowning. "Y'know, Thorn...if you think about it...Teazel being here wouldn't really help after all since...she kinda..."

-"Has the tendency to use her powers, even if the situation doesn't call for it?"- A huff. -"Yeah, I know."- Another sigh made the phone crackle with static. -"Well, whatever. Look, don't worry about it. Just sit tight and wait at the house and I'll be there soon. Tonight, hopefully. If you have to move, then move, but move _smart_, Thistle."-

"I know, I know." Thistle rolled her eyes.

-"Later."-

"Wait a minute!" Leo yelled out. "_Thorn_--!"

A crunching sound interrupted him right before the line went dead. On the screen, the words "Call Ended" displayed in black, plain font. To the four turtle brothers, it was a death sentence, declaring the end of a new ally and possibly even a friend. However, Thistle was unaffected by this new mood that had taken the turtles, and blatantly flipped the cellphone shut, startling all of them from their stupor.

"She--She's got those ice powers, right?" Mikey spoke up, looking to her. "Can't she use those?"

"It's...well...she _could_," Thistle stammered; it seemed the questioning against her sisters' words was unexpected. "Uh, she _would_. But... We're trying to hide you guys. So we don't want the enemy-guys to know about our powers. Or else they're gonna start finding people who _do_ have a chance against us."

"But...they already know, don't they? When she first broke us out, she didn't exactly go for a subtle approach!"

"Think back, Mikey," Don told him. "They thought she was hiding canisters of cryogenic--" At Mike's blank look, he rephrased himself. "--uh, freezing chemicals, basically. Now that they've caught her, they've probably checked her over for weapons and she's come up unarmed. If she uses her powers, then they'll know for sure she's not normal."

"But as skilled as Thorn's proved she is, I doubt she'll be able to do much if she can't use her powers," Leo stated. "So, let's start planning."

A new attitude took the turtle team, then, as they began to head towards the kitchen.

"Wait--" Thistle said, completely confused. "What're we doing?"

Leo glanced back at her. "We're saving your sister."

Thistle blinked in shock, openly staring at them. "Are you serious?"

Raph turned to her with a scowl. "Are _you_ serious? We barely even know 'er an' we're willin' to risk our necks. You guys're _family_, ain't'cha?"

At the question, the youngest sister looked taken aback. "Well...yeah..."

"And ain't you pissed they rough-handled _your_ sister like that?"

A shrug. "Sure...?"

"Alright, then! So you in or what?"

The girl blinked back at the question, still looking nonplussed by the entire situation.

As if going against Teazel's word, going against Thorn's, _saving_ Thorn when she was told not to--as if all of it was part of a list of things she'd never done before. In parallel, the turtles returned the glance. It was new to them, as well: this concept of having to _think_ about whether they should save a family member or friend, or not. At first, it seemed as if Thistle was going to back away from it all.

She shrugged again and shook her head slightly.

But then, she said, "Okay."

+-+-+-+-+

"She was a puzzle to them. When she should've begged for water, she remained silent and allowed herself to sweat. Whilst still caged, she was able to knock out a guard and make use of his cellphone-like-device _and_ destroy it before any contact history could be obtained. ...And outside, night began to fall--"

A loud banging caused the speaker to jump in start and she turned to the current guard who was glaring at her through the glass with his heavy fist still against it.

"_Shut the hell up_!" the guard snapped.

Thorn huffed, propping her arms around her knees. "Yup. Still over-dramatic."

+-+-+-+-+

Thistle was waiting, already outside; she had her hands in her pockets and was leaning back on her heels when Leo approached.

"Thorn does that a lot, too," he commented with a smile.

Thistle grinned toothily and nodded. "Yeah, well, that's where I stole it from. I steal a lotta things from Thorn."

"'Ey, Leo!" Raph was yelling as he, Don, and Mikey stepped from the front door. "We doin' this shit while we're still young 'n' limber?"

The three brothers joined the turtle and the human, the group now forming a clumsily-shaped circle.

"So, are you gonna tell us how you know where Thorn is, now?" Mikey asked Thistle.

+-+-+-+-+

"Let me get this straight," Don spoke up as they followed the younger sister. "You guys not only have impossibly illogical powers, but you can also..._sense_ where one of you is?"

"Um, well," Thistle stammered, eyes wide and mouth in a broad frown as she tried to put her thoughts in words. "I...I _guess_, but...umm? ...You know what? I'm done explaining!"

"You forgot, Don," Raph snickered. "This is the numnut who couldn't even say 'Thorn's in trouble' on the phone."

"So I'm _slow_! Why's everyone gotta pick on me for that? Meanie-faces!"

Mikey patted her back, a bit too hard so that she stumbled a bit, not that he noticed, and he grinned. "S'okay! He picks on me _all_ the time. They always do. It's cuz we're the youngest siblings."

"No, it's cuz _you're_ freakin' annoying," Raph snapped at him with loud whack to the back of the head.

"_Ow_! See?"

Thistle nodded, eyes lightening as she understood. "Yeah! _Yeah_! Thorn always used to throw pillows at me and sit on me and stuff and it _hurt_!"

"What _hurts_, kid," Raph turned to her, "is being forced to train for fucking bullshit hours because _someone's_ a tightass." He eyed Leo.

His response was a cough too loud to be natural. Leo was gazing at him with a frown and indignant eyes. "Raph, I only relay things to you guys that Master Splinter tells me to."

"Oooh, pullin' the Splinter Junior shtick again!"

"Yeah, Leo," Mikey butted in. "Y'know, the next time Master Splinter tells _me_ something, I'm gonna go rag it out on you, too, so you know how it feels."

"And what'll that be about, Mike?" Leo raised an eyeridge. "To stop clogging the toilets so poor Donny won't have to keep fixing them? And then framing Raph to dodge the trouble?"

Thistle burst into giggles. "My other older sister ALWAYS clogs toilets and blames it on _Thorn_!"

"I offer a strategy," Raph spoke up. "_Flush half-way through_!"

"_How_ did we get on this topic again?" Don wondered with a sigh, his first question remaining unanswered.

+-+-+-+-+

They were crouched in the bushes, just a slight distance from the encampment of large trucks and tents and laughing soldiers in camo. It was night, but even the breeze was warm and they squatted and sweated, keeping still in their clustered position.

"Alright, running through the plan again," Leo began, just to be sure.

But he never finished his sentence. Instead, he was interrupted by three noises that raised alarm in him: Don's surprised gasp, Mikey's "Whoa!", and Raph's "_What the_--?"

But by the time he turned around, there was shadow right in front of him and next to Thistle.

It grasped Thistle's shoulder in passing and Leo had a ninjaken unsheathed, but then it spoke in a vaguely familiar voice: "Hurry up and cover me!"

And then it dashed forward. Before they could ask Thistle what just happened, she was already following behind the figure.

And suddenly, there were waves of water rolling on dry ground into soldiers, and yells and gunfire, and mists smogging the scene so that the turtles could barley make out anything anymore.

Then--a _window_ through the gray blue clouds: it showed a blurry vision of a figure darting into one of the large tents. More shouts, but before the expected gunfire could occur, water spilled from underneath the tent flaps and two soldiers came rolling from the entrance, shoved out by a large wave of liquid. The newcomer--it could now be made out that the newcomer had long hair that dipped down to their back--walked from the tent haughtily followed by a more-calm and cool-expressed--was it? it _was_--Thorn.

Once she stepped out, the mist began to clear out a bit and soon the turtles could see Thistle holding her own against the armed enemy. Spinning with kicks and thrusting with flat-palms (that one seemed to be her preferred maneuver) and lunging forward with elbows. All were very straightforward attacks, but the reason she got away with it was because of the constant mist she would blow to the enemy's faces to blind and startle them, leaving her a wide-open window of opportunity.

Thorn examined the scene quickly, the newcomer at her side.

"Way to reveal us," Thorn remarked dryly, but her expression was all humor as ice began to flock as jagged spikes on the ground around her and hurtle at the surrounding humans.

The newcomer didn't take it lightly. "It's your _own_ fault!"

Now standing still, even if only briefly, in the moonlight, they could see that the new stranger was a young woman.

Her attire consisted of a beige jacket which had the button-arrangement of an old-fashioned stereotypical detective trench coat, but ended just below her bottom. Underneath it, white ruffles of a skirt, which was actually the bottom part of a casual sleeveless dress that clung to her upper body, hung loosely down to her knees. Her shoes were black flats, with gold-colored-trimmings, and they matched a cloth wrap that dripped out under the jacket but the over dress in two loops.

She was pretty. She wore make-up and her hair was curled slightly, as if she had just come from a casual party, and gold earrings dangled and glittered in contrast with the dark black locks. She had familiar ink-blue eyes.

Around her neck lingered a black large-beaded necklace that looped around her throat twice and still draped loosely...and a strangely-shaped and multi-hued blue stone that matched her eyes somewhat, strung by a black ribbon and used as a choker.

And then, she was moving, swinging her arms back and...and _making water appear_ in waves that toppled the enemy off their feet.

Leo might've been the first to realize this, and may have been the only one who had cared enough to process it:

This was _Teazel_. The elder sister had arrived.

"_Stupid_--!" she was hissing, watching with narrowed eyes as the gunmen she'd just knocked down recovered from the blow. Water swirled about her arms once more. "You think they'd just be SMART and STOP GETTING _UP_!"

Thorn half-sighed, half-groaned and stepped ahead of her. "I'll take care of it!"

Teazel fell back immediately at these words, though she was still glaring, as did Thistle who waved for the turtles ahead of them to do the same. Just before they did, though, they watched as fog seeped from Thistle's hands and water was thrown from Teazel's past where Thorn stood.

It took a heavy, but quick lash of Thorn's arm for the water on the ground to freeze and clump into a layer inches thick to the ground and climb up the enemies' feet/whatever touched the ground, rendering them unable to follow. Thistle's fog finally homed in as well, blocking the view of the escape.

"I _told_ them the turtles were here," the middle sister sighed.

And then Thorn, too, began running.

+-+-+-+-+

But when the veil of intensity began to lift, the group began to flash smiles at each other in the dark.

Thorn was the first to reveal herself to the moonlight, stepping out from the trees and shadows with her arms outstretched and a big, toothy grin on her face. Thistle automatically followed, ever susceptible to mirth.

"So, you finally decided to join us!" Thorn greeted to a certain area of shadows.

She barely had a warning as Teazel lunged out of the darkness with a glare and scowl and smacked her on the arm. The blow wasn't hard enough to seriously injure Thorn--Teazel didn't possess the physical strength to do that in one hit--but any onlooker would be able to tell that it was not a friendly gesture.

"_Hey_!"

"DON'T 'hey' _me_! _I_ had to come all the freakin' way from LONDON to save you!" Teazel's own words seemed to enrage herself even more. "From _LONDON_!" She leapt forward in another flurry of slaps and smacks.

"Alright--_alright_--" Thorn stammered between blows, holding her arms in front of her face. She finally swung back. "STOP."

It wasn't a punch made to land, just for Teazel to dodge so she'd back off.

Thorn eyed her older sister incredulously. "_Jesus Christ_, Teazel! You're such a fucking psycho sometimes!"

"_I'm_ a psycho," Teazel chuckled rather darkly. She scowled again. "You're the one who's psycho! _Oh, I'm gonna save the turtles_--_oh, I'm gonna have the nerve to actually ask for help feeding the turtles_--_oh, I'm gonna get Thistle to not listen to Teazel also just to piss Teazel off_--_oh, I'm off to BE CAPTURED so Teazel WILL HAVE TO SAVE ME_! FROM LONDON!"

"_Okay_." Thorn was looking at the ground now, and her voice was quiet, but the expression on her face told that she was far from apologizing.

Teazel in a last attempt to ease her rage finally conjured a wave of water to spill onto Thorn; Leo noted it was the same move she had pulled when he first saw her and Thorn in an argument.

The older sister finally huffed, stomping past Thorn, but froze as she noticed there were four bulky, shadowy figures in her way...in the form of turtles standing upright.

"Those...," Teazel murmured, staring.

"The turtles," Thorn muttered. She turned to poke Thistle accusingly in the belly and made the younger sister laugh. "Why doesn't she ever hit _you_ like that, _huh_?"

Teazel continued staring at the turtles, her stance slightly defensive, and her eyes wide. She took a step back as one of the turtles, the one with the blue mask, approached her. She turned back to shoot 'help me!' glances at her sisters, but they were too busy jesting around with each other to notice her (a thought passed in her irritable mind that perhaps they were ignoring her on purpose to force this interaction with the turtle--those idiots).

She turned back to face the giant turtle, ready to fight if it tried anything.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Leo said politely with the friendliest smile he could muster as he held his hand towards her for a handshake. "We've heard a lot about you from your sisters."

However, once Teazel realized he wasn't going to hurt her, she took on the same cold expression she had with Thorn. And Leo was surprised at how fierce it was, now that it was focused on him.

Teazel stared at him in such a condescending way that Raphael growled a bit. Leo frowned uncomfortably under the gaze, his hand still awkwardly extended towards her.

"Hi," Teazel greeted in a clipped voice, not touching his three-fingered hand.

Thorn glared at her while Thistle, embarrassed of Teazel's blunt show of disliking, kept her gaze on her shoes.

"Yeah. His name is Leo," Thorn said slowly, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'his'. She did the same for the others. "_He_ is Raph, _he_ is Don, _he_ is Mikey."

Teazel nodded towards all of them, offering them the same gaze. "Hello."

"Just what's your freakin' _problem_, anyway?" Raph finally spat.

Teazel's eyes widened at the outburst and then slightly narrowed into a glare; Raph didn't back down.

"Raph!" Leo exclaimed.

"FUCK, no! You saw the way she looked at you! The way she looked at _all_ of us! Like we're freakin' DIRT!"

"_Raph_, stand down!"

Leo looked to Thorn for help on defending her sister, but she just stood there with a sort of grin, looking amused. Thistle stood behind Thorn, trying to look expressionless, while the other two turtles were not as blatant as Thorn, but looked less unsettled when Raph defended them.

Leo gave Raphael a firm push backwards, stepping in-between him and Thorn's older sister. He gave an apologetic look. "Sorry. He gets like that sometimes. But we really appreciate everything you and your sisters have done and are doing for us."

Teazel trained her eyes on him scornfully, as if he'd been the one yelling, before huffing and turning her back on all of them, storming away.

"Yeah, whatever, BITCH!" Raph sneered.

"_Raph_!"

"_Don't_ even, Leo! You can bow and thank graciously and pretend for all hell that she 'means well' or what the FUCK ever! But I ain't lyin' down and lettin' her kick me like some kinda dog!"

"I think she likes dogs better," Thistle said and then shuffled around, her gazing lowering as everyone stared at her.

"I don't _care_ if you stand up for yourself, Raph!" Leo said, continuing the conversation from before. "But you can't deal with her in the way you deal with everything!"

Raph growled. "WHY NOT?"

"Because how _she_ sees us is probably what the majority of the WORLD does!"

Raph fell silent and the other two brothers looked up, being brought into the conversation.

Leo let his voice soften. "Not everyone's going to be like Thistle and Thorn. There's going to be tons of people like Teazel and those scientists who captured us. Fighting them on reflex isn't what's going to get them to accept us. We have to show them how much we're like them, how much we're on their side. It's not gonna be easy, but we just need to be patient. And Teazel seems like a good starting point."

It wasn't hard for Mikey and Don to comprehend. They weren't the difficult ones. Leo had his gaze trained on Raph, who wasn't returning the look, instead studying the ground.

"Raph?" Leo tried.

Raph grunted. "_Fine_." He glanced up. "But you of all people knows I only _got_ so much patience!"

Leo smiled and just nodded.

"Patience aside, Raph, thank you for that," Thorn sighed, shaking her head. "You made her so flustered. She's not used to being challenged, as much as you think I do it."

"_STOP_ talking about me!" Teazel practically screeched back at them before whirling back around and continuing stomping away. It turned out, she had stopped putting so much distance between herself and them.

Thorn scowled back at her and turned to shrug to the turtles, glancing meaningfully at Leonardo before she went up ahead of them to catch up to Teazel. Thistle tailed behind her, falling unintentionally into the automatic line they made as they walked side-by-side.

Again, Teazel smacked Thorn, this time on the head, and Thorn ended up trading Thistle spots.

"I'd hate to have a sister like that," Mikey commented. "Sure, Raph hits me hard, but _she's_ MEAN about it."

"She's probably just a little edgy," Leo rationalized. "She did come all the way from London."

Don nodded. "I'm sure she'll be able to walk it all off."

"I doubt it," Raph grumbled.

+-+-+-+-+

Unfortunately, Raph was right.

As the turtles filed into the house, they could see why Thistle preferred to stay behind and hold the door open for them. Waiting in the livingroom, her two older sisters stood on opposite ends: Teazel with her back to the closet door, and Thorn with her back to the window front door and the turtles.

But they stood casually, with Teazel leaning back against the door and Thorn propping her arm on the stairway rail.

So the turtles ignored them best they could, moving around to get to the TV and turning it on. Thistle moved towards the couch as well, albeit nervously, but she eyed her two sisters again and paused, thinking over her decision.

"Have you even scouted the area today?" Teazel asked coldly. "There could be spies or agents planted _anywhere_ and we'll all be killed in our sleep. Thanks to _you_."

"Thistle," Thorn said.

"Ugh, every single time," Thistle groaned and then began grumbling incoherently under her breath as she headed back to the door.

"Why don't you ask for some company, then?" Thorn told her in a sigh.

"I'll go with!" Mikey volunteered, jumping up from his position on the couch. "I haven't been exploring in _ages_!"

"It's not really exploring," Thistle warned as they walked outside.

Mikey's reply was cut off as the door shut.

Thorn and Teazel returned to glaring each other down.

"We should go to the kitchen or some other room if we're gonna argue," Thorn said quietly. She didn't fancy the idea of being chewed out by her older sister in front of other people.

"_No_," Teazel snapped indignantly, as if offended. This angry, she took Thorn's suggestion as a challenge, and she was in no mood for anymore of Thorn's stupid challenges. "If they don't like it, _they_ should leave. It's not even their house. They shouldn't even _be_ here."

"_Teazel_."

"Thorn!" Teazel shot back pointlessly, folding her own arms.

"It's fine; we're going upstairs," Leo cut in as gently as he could to not have Teazel's temper avert to him or his brothers.

Don was already standing, but Leo noticed Raph was still on the couch and he grabbed his arm.

"_No_," Raphael said, shaking Leo's grip off. "_I'm_ staying. They wanna stay here and catfight, they can do it in front of me. I like this show."

Leo and Don knew immediately he was lying; this was in fact the same marathon of the TV show that Thistle liked, that Raph had dissed the day before.

"Is _that_ what you've been doing?" Teazel asked suddenly, staring at the TV. "Watching television all day together?"

Thorn replied casually, but warily, unsure of where Teazel was taking this. "Pretty much, on top of some other things."

"I get it." Teazel's voice was light, and her expression was unreadable. Which made what she said even more ruthless. "You just wanted friends."

"...Wha--?"

"You wanted friends! You found out about _them_--" Teazel flung an arm out to gesture to the turtles. "--and knew they'd want your help, and knew that if you rescued them, they'd be in your debt and even _like_ you! Huh?"

Thorn was still unable to fully fathom the concept. "What the hell kind of random _bullshit_?"

Teazel left no turn for her to continue. "That's it, _huh_? Not only could you play hero for a while, but you'd also get some friends because, of course, no HUMAN in their right mind would be friends with you. So you have to go and find friends in giant, talking turtles!"

"Where the hell are you _getting_ this from?" Thorn ground out, face twisted into an expression caught between bewilderment and fury.

"I dunno. You tell me. _I_ have human friends. Even Thistle goes out with some regular faces every now and then. But the _closest_ thing you have to something like that is your ridiculous relationship with that pyro ex-boyf--"

"_Wow_." Thorn hissed. "I--I can't _believe_ this shit. Are you fucking serious right now? You're pissed off--that's pretty fucking obvious--but you're immediately rude to people you haven't taken the time to get to know--"

"_Turtles_!"

"--you _accuse_ me with some dumbfuck theory about wanting friends--"

"Just admit I'm _right_!"

Thorn's voice became grated. "--_now_ you bring _HIM_ into this severely fucked conversation that shouldn't involve him at all and compare him to your fucking weekend gal-pals--"

Teazel's eyes narrowed again and her fists clenched. "You _deserve_ it for--"

"--and you just HAVE to have a fucking audience to watch us duke it out!" Thorn finished loudly. "Where the _fuck_ do you get off on this, Teazel?"

"...You're ridiculous."

The eldest strode past the middle sibling, opening the front door and then slamming it as hard as she could behind her, causing everyone in the room to jump or flinch.

Thorn whirled around, angrily, speaking out anyway since she knew Teazel could hear her through the open window. "SELF-CENTERED BITCH."

Suddenly, she was forced around so hard she barely had time to register that she was facing Leo before he backhanded her. She stumbled aside to the wall as Don and Raph rushed forward in shock.

"LEO?" "_What the hell_?"

"Thorn, are you okay?" Don asked, reaching out to her, but Thorn pushed from the wall, away from him.

She stared at Leo, eyes wide, but not in anger or fright. More like the look one would wear if someone had jumped out and startled them. A bewilderment. "E-Explain?"

"I... You just..." Leo seemed just as startled, stepping back. But then, his eyes narrowed and he yelled at Thorn as if she were a child: "DON'T call your older sister that!"

"...Leo?" Don voiced his name quietly, hoping Leonardo would elaborate.

Thorn could only blink in shock. "Leo...I..."

"The _fuck_?" Raph hissed, getting in Leo's face again. "You go off on ME about losin' control and there _you_ go slappin' people around, tellin' 'em what to do--and she was on OUR side! She was defending us against her bitch of a sister and you get angry just 'cause she calls her as she is! Her sister ain't been anything less of a bitch since we got in her range of view and I saw nothin' wrong with callin' 'er one!"

Leonardo only pushed Raphael to the side, and though his brother fumed, he watched curiously as Leo stepped closer to Thorn. Don moved aside as well, watching the scene unfold. He nor Raphael had ever seen Leo like this...especially towards a stranger who wasn't an enemy.

"You have _no_ idea," Leo started. "You have _no_ right."

Thorn blinked, but met the hard gaze. "What?"

"How could _you_ understand what it's like to be in Teazel's shoes? How could _you_ understand how much responsibility rests on her shoulders? The responsibility to not only take care of you and Thistle, but the pressure to do it _well_?"

There was a growl. "Same to you, then."

"What?"

"How could _you_ understand being overshadowed and overlooked by 'The Favorite'?" Thorn muttered.

Raphael blinked, looked up and straight to her, and at that moment found himself more connected to Thorn than he'd felt to anything in a while.

Thorn shook her head, her eyes narrowing as her voice got stronger. "How could YOU understand what it's like holding the seams of a family together when they forget everything and fall apart?"

Don winced at how much meaning that sentence held for himself.

"And not only _that_, but under an older sister like _Teazel_," Thorn said. Her voice had stopped rising, but there was still an emotional strain on her voice. "You think you already know her _only_ because both of you are the oldest of your siblings! But I've _told_ you, Leo. _She's not like you_. _She_ wasn't the one raised to be responsible for us, okay?"

Leonardo stared at her. "Wait, what do you mean she--?"

"Look, it doesn't even matter!" Thorn was shaking her head, already. She hated being so emotional and was willing to change the subject. "I don't even know where I'm going with this conversation anymore..." She locked eyes with him again. "Just get _this_: if my sister's being a self-centered CUNT, then in all my power am I gonna call her one!"

Leo could only respond with a hard gaze of his own, and that was the only sign he gave of his disapproval. Thorn'd thought that eye contact helped people understand each other better, but all she could see is their beliefs still clashing.

It was embarrassing to her that Don and Raph were still watching this show of complete drama.

She finally shook her head, turning away from the eye-lock. "_Dammit_, Leo." And she headed up the stairs.

Leo looked at the ground, under his two brothers' gazes, and then finally met them.

Raph had a glare awaiting him. "You're a fucking piece o' work, y'know, that?" And he stalked off to the kitchen.

Don's expression was blank, but painfully so. He lowered his eyes and walked past Leo to the couch and TV, holding no words for his older brother and therefore, not showing favoritism towards anyone in the argument. But they both knew whose words had won him.

Leo sighed, watching as Raph grumbled and cursed and bustled around the kitchen to make himself a sandwich, and looked over to Don, who avoided his gaze and flipped through channels just for something to do.

Quietly and awkwardly, Leo made his own way to the couch and sat down, watching the clips of different shows Don switched through.

+-+-+-+-+

Thorn had closed the door of the room as normally as she could, not slamming it and not silently as if something were wrong. If there was something she prided herself in, it was not turning into an emotional wreck like her sisters might've in the situation.

She cursed again, pacing around the darkened room, unsure of what to do. She was outraged that Leo--_Leonardo_ of all--would actually _judge_ HER. At the same time, she was so...sad.

Thorn lowered herself to sit on the floor, against the wall.

She'd never gotten into an argument that intense with any others. Sure, there were her sisters. But they were bound by blood. They'd gotten into bad fights, but she'd be joking with Thistle in the next few days or Teazel would always come crawling back asking for a favor. But arguments like this, even resorting to _slapping_, not punching... It seemed too intimate. The turtles were practically strangers still.

She wasn't sure how she'd ever look Leo or even Raph and Don in the face again...

Hurriedly, she pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. She flicked the lighter, but no flame appeared. Thorn cursed, feeling stupid. A reason why she hardly ever smoked in front of others was mostly because she always felt like an idiot when she smoked. Like some kind of 'trouble teen trying to be cool' or something. Besides, more people nowadays found it to be a dirty habit, her nagging older sister included...

_Shit! Why won't it light?_

She was sure this lighter was new. It was disposable, not crappy. Why wouldn't it light?

+-+-+-+-+

Teazel sniffled, letting herself cry as she curled into a tighter ball in the seat of the helicopter she perched herself on. Stupid Thorn. Stupid turtles. She shouldn't even be crying here, she reasoned. It was technically _her_ house. She could throw them _all_ out. She had the power. She was head of the family.

Or...she could just leave them.

Teazel eyed the helicopter controls. That would show them.

Stupid Thorn always doing stuff like this... She always had to make things hard. Teazel hated this. She hated the fact she was born into this family. And having Thorn for a sister wasn't helping any... And of course, Thorn now had turtle friends...whom Thorn probably convinced to hate Teazel as well. And Thorn had Thistle on her side, too, probably...

Not that Teazel cared. Freaks. She had better stuff to worry about, anyway. The world was cruel and her life sucked, but no _way_ was she going to let some mutated turtles and a difficult sister get _her_ down!

She looked up to adjust her hair and stared at the distant light on the horizon that greeted her.

Was the sun rising already? Teazel blinked and as her last tears fell, she wiped them away. How strange. Had she really been out there so long? Or...did it just take that long to get back?

The was a line of brightness along the horizon as the lightsource seemed to get closer. But it wasn't a mellow light, like sunrise... More like a harsh orange. Like something burning. Actually...the smell of smoke was... Teazel was able to check her watch in the given light. 3:34am. Then, what--?

Teazel bolted upright and leapt from the helicopter and back towards the house.

"Fuck!"

+-+-+-+-+

"I still don't get it!" Mikey protested. "Why are we running?"

"I'll tell you _later_!" Thistle repeated, panting. "After we get out of here! You don't have to or _want_ to be near it to get it!"

"_Man_... And I was having _fun_ exploring, too!"

"It wasn't really exploring, it was--"

"_Thistle_!" a new voice yelled.

Thistle looked up and saw Teazel run to a stop in front of the house. She and Mikey stopped as well.

"Teazel!" Thistle reported immediately. "Thorn's--... That guy..."

Mikey eyed the younger sister. What was she going to say? Thorn's _what_? Boyfriend?

In response to her younger sister, Teazel only nodded. "Yeah." She raised her voice towards an open upstairs window and was surprised to find Thorn leaning on the ledge already. "Thorn!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Thorn was already down from the window, and standing as the skies and ground seemed to brighten and the source of light rode closer.

"What's going on?" Leo asked as he, Raph, and Don exited the house, eyeing the overheard of smoke and brightness. "Did the forest catch fire?"

"Problems," Teazel said through her teeth. She couldn't help but get angry again. "_Stupid_ problems caused by Thorn. AGAIN."

Thorn didn't answer, and no one could see her face since her back was to everyone.

"What _is_ it?" Raph demanded, weapons already out.

"Hey, is it just me, or is it getting hotter all of a sudden?" Mikey asked.

"Thistle?" Don looked to the younger sister for information. She took a step back from him, shaking her head, showing she couldn't answer. Don turned to the older sister. "Teazel?"

She had her gaze on Thorn. "Well? What do we do?"

Leo stared at Teazel, surprised she was asking this of Thorn.

Thorn finally turned to her. "What do you mean? We'll do what we always do." She shrugged. "Get out of here." Before Teazel could answer, Thorn's eyes narrowed into a blunt glare. "And bring the turtles. You better stick with 'em, too."

"Fine." Teazel nodded begrudgingly. She looked to the turtles and Thistle. "Let's hurry up!"

They dashed towards the helicopter, but as they strapped themselves in, Don noticed something. "Why is Thorn still out there?"

Raph turned his head. "_What_?" He blinked. "Hey! Your sister!"

"Close the doors!" Teazel instructed as the helicopter's sounds began to beat loudly through the air.

"Wait a minute!" Leo said as Thistle shut one of the doors. "Thorn's still out there."

"_Yeah_! I _know_! Close the door!"

"But--"

Teazel huffed, turning to Thistle. "Do it!"

Thistle nodded, moving around and closing the door near Leo as well. Raph jumped from his seat.

"What the hell's going on?" he snapped. "And it better be good!"

"Stupid...," Teazel muttered, rubbing her temples as she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she met his glare with her own. "What's going on is we're LEAVING."

"But...your sister!" Mikey said. Maybe reminding Teazel she and Thorn were related would change Teazel's mind. Or at least Thistle's. "You can't leave your sister!"

"Well, we're going to! This is how we do things! Just SIT DOWN." And just as she said that, the helicopter began to rise, causing unsteady footing. All turtles who were standing just fell. "We'd only be wasting our breath. I'll explain once we're out of here, alright?!"

As the helicopter climbed higher, the turtles and two girls could look out the windows and see the middle sister still standing in front of the house. The light source was closer now, and they could see it was a giant, burning blaze of fire...and it was _moving forward_? Behind it was a broad, yet controlled trail of forest scorched black and brown.

The helicopter turned and soon, there was only ocean, but the turtles looked back and could still see the tiny spec of light flickering in the dark display.

-+-+-+-+O+-+-+-+-

_To Be Continued._


End file.
